They’ll Never Be Normal – Introducing Batch 007!

PUBLISHED October 29, 2013

by Jess Erickson

When we opened up applications for Batch 007 secret agents a few months ago, we received more applications than we knew what to do with – almost 1300! After countless interviews with talented founders, the 30 startups of Batch 007 have finally entered the building! They started our rigorous training program a few weeks back and are excited to take on their first #500Strong mission from Agent DMC.

So, where are our new agents from? Pretty much everywhere – they hail from Sweden, UK, Italy, Mexico, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia, India, and Brazil, just to name a few. We also have founders from all over the US, including Hermosa Beach, NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, Gainesville, Nashville and other cities.

This time around, we have startups that do everything from micro-biome sequencing to electric skateboards. Oh, and we even have a few that focus on inventory management (can you say “unsexy”?). As always, the founders are incredibly diverse, with 5 female founders and 12 startups from outside the US.

For their big debut, our secret agents decided to put their own startup spin on the pop hit Royals. Check it out.

We also interviewed nearly all the Batch 7 companies in the latest episode of the Startup Founders Podcast! Listen to their 3-minute lightning interviews here:

Do YOU want to be #500Strong? You’re in luck – we’re already taking applications for our next accelerator class! This batch will kick off January 2014 in a brand new San Francisco office! Warby Parkers and fixies are optional, but recommended. You can APPLY NOW through AngelList.Applications CLOSE on Nov 27 at 11:59pm, so don’t delay!.

Learn more about all our fall accelerator companies on AngelList or below. Welcome to the family, Batch 7!

Full List of Batch 007 Startups

A search engine that helps people find, connect with and hire technical talent.

AngelList:https://angel.co/3sourcingFounders: Tom Savage, Razvan DinuFrom: London, UK and Bucharest, RomaniaFun Fact: Tom is living in a campervan while at 500. Raz has always been more sensible. Oh, and we won a European iTalent Award and acquired 400k users for previous product, but decided to pivot.

Super easy SaaS to manage and optimize Facebook Ads for SMBs and media agencies. On average, our customers achieve savings of up to 40%.

AngelList: https://angel.co/adespressoFounders: Massimo Chieruzzi, Carlo ForghieriFrom: Milan, ItalyFun Fact: 2 Years ago we came in Silicon Valley to get feedback for our MVP of AdEspresso. Our first event, “The Startup Conference,” was located in the plaza in front of 500 Startups, and Dave was the keynote speaker. 2 years later here we are…that’s fate 🙂

AngelList: https://angel.co/anyadir-education/Founders: Manish Katyan, Duleep DeosthaleFrom: New York and BangaloreFun Fact: Founder is a Spanish professor who became an entrepreneur to fix education after visiting 500+ universities in 100+ countries.

A distribution as a service (DAAS) platform that takes any content from an advertiser, creates a value reward for sharing, and then has the brands’ most ardent followers make it go viral. We deliver results that are 6-7X more effective than any other online campaign.

AngelList:https://angel.co/buzzstarterFounders: Ken Zi Wang, Alex Gold, Alexi NedeltchevFrom: San Francisco, CAFun Fact: We have over $350,000 in revenue after just a few months.

Destination site for Beauty Professionals: provides career development and leverages small businesses while boosting online distribution.

AngelList: https://angel.co/carreira-beautyFounders: Rui Miadaira, Antonio Miadaira FilhoFrom: Sao Paulo, BrazilFun Fact: Brazil is the third largest beauty market in the world after the USA and Japan.

A platform designed for the modern wholesaler. Goods provides an intuitive, easy-to-use, and secure service that enables any wholesaler to accept B2B transactions, manage inventory, and create digital catalogs.

AngelList: https://angel.co/goods-platformFounders: Duy HuynhFrom: New York, NYFun Fact: The team ran a wholesale distribution business that sells to major retailers like Costco, Target, Home Depot, Amazon, SkyMall, Fab, etc. Through all of these transactions, we used paper, pens, and fax machines. We created Goods to fix this problem.

A proactive virtual travel agent that saves travelers time and automatically finds them the best hotels based on their preferences.

AngelList: https://angel.co/olsetFounders: Gadi Bashvitz, Amyn SheriffFrom: San Francisco, CA, USAFun Fact: We have traveled more than 2M miles and stayed in hotels more than 1,000 nights over the last decade, so we really understand the pain that frequent travelers feel.

Via a few taps and swipes on iOS, Partender brings bars into the 21st century and reduces the time it takes managers to do bar inventory from 6 hours to 15 minutes or less.

AngelList: https://angel.co/partenderFounders: Nik KundraFrom: Gainesville, FLFun Fact: We started Partender because we were trying to hook up with bartenders/managers. They couldn’t meet up because they were stuck doing inventory until 7AM. We looked into it, and it turns out inventory blows and is a serious problem. That’s why we created Partender.

Creates highly personalized weekly menus based on health goals, lifestyle, and dietary preferences. PlateJoy then partners with grocers such as Whole Foods to next-day delivery all of the ingredients and easy recipes you need to prepare your meals.

AngelList: https://angel.co/platejoyFounders: Christina BognetFrom: Boston, MAFun Fact: Christina was inspired to start PlateJoy after losing fifty pounds. She realized how difficult it was to consistently eat healthy meals at home without wasting considerable time planning and shopping.

A micro-publishing platform that helps business people easily deliver information through single web pages. You don’t need a designer or a developer to create a web page that is attractive, mobile optimized, secure, and most importantly – trackable.

AngelList: https://angel.co/populr-meFounders: Nicholas Holland, Jared Scheel, Daniel NelsonFrom: Nashville, TennesseeFun Fact: We created the micro-site http://bestpitchdecks.com while testing Populr, and it has over 25K visits with almost 19K clicks. The best part is that it took less than 15 minutes to create once we had the pitch decks!

An online investment platform that uses crowdfunding to pool investors into private real estate investments. Accredited Investor members can browse a variety of investment opportunities, review details on the investment and invest as little as $5000.

We simplify running a retail business and help merchants reach more customers. Shopseen now helps 750+ worldwide grow their businesses.

AngelList: https://angel.co/shopseenFounders: Adeel Ahmad, Aakash DesaiFrom: San Francisco, USAFun Fact: Shopseen was started when Adeel tried to grow and manage his vintage retail shop, Vacation (featured in 7×7), in the Tenderloin of San Francisco.

We crowdsource and deliver awesome comments to improve the quality and engagement potential of discussion/comment sections on sports websites. Our vision is to power every sports discussion on the Web and on Mobile by becoming the social arm of all major sports content publishers.

The first direct-to-consumer microbiome sequencing company. Learn about your bacteria!

AngelList: https://angel.co/ubiomeFounders: Jessica Richman, Dr. Zachary ApteFrom: San Francisco, CA USAFun Fact: There are 10 times as many bacterial cells as human cells in your body. You are 90% bacteria!

Viral Marketing at scale through technology that measures how consumers watch, share, and talk about video content. The ViralGains Viral Marketing Platform is the first of its kind that maximizes views, shares, and conversations in real time for YouTube content.

We design, build, and sell the ZBoard Weight-Sensing Electric Skateboard. Lean forward to go. Lean back to stop. ZBoards are made in California and shipped worldwide.

AngelList: https://angel.co/zboardFounders: Ben Forman and Geoff LarsonFrom: Hermosa Beach, CAFun Fact: The first time we wired up the ZBoard it worked perfectly…in reverse.

Published by Jess Erickson

Jess loves technology, equality and people, which is why she’s 500’s Director of Diversity. She is also the founder of the global women in tech organization Geekettes. A professional surfer of the web, she’s finally ready to settle back at home after seven years abroad and become an amateur surfer of the West Coast waves.